Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 62: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in respect of his meeting on 10 June 2005, with a private investigator (details supplied) in County Meath, he discussed with his Departmental staff the intended meeting with the private investigator; the reason his Departmental staff were not present at the meeting; when he first created a minute of the meeting; if he created a schedule of the copy documents supplied by the private investigator; and if so, when; if any of the documents received touched on issues of relevance to the Morris Tribunal; if so, if these documents were forwarded by him to the Tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22123/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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For many years the individual named in the Deputy's question has frequently contacted me on a personal basis on a very wide range of issues which are of interest to him. These contacts are sometimes made by phone and sometimes by writing.

In relation to the specific encounter raised by the Deputy, the person in question had contacted me in the preceding week and had indicated that he was apprehensive that in a forthcoming debate in this House things might be said on which he could throw additional light. I was due to travel westwards on private business for the weekend on the day that I met him and I contacted him as to whether he would be at his home which was along my intended route. We had a lengthy conversation on a number of topics chiefly centring on his personal involvement with the McBrearty family and the Morris Tribunal and events related thereto but also with other personal matters. He gave me copies of a number of documents which he had sent to my Department. None of them was original and all of them were already in the hands of the Department and had been made available for the Tribunal. The meeting was personal and no official was present; it was not an occasion in respect of which either I or the individual in question would have been expected to make a minute.